By Phil Lacombe
This week’s Local Music Spotlight shines on Aydra J Swan, a visionary performer who blurs the line between concert and cosmic experience. From the high desert to stages across the globe, Aydra fuses music, aerial art, fire, and movement into something transcendent. Her sound is cinematic, her presence magnetic, and her mission crystal clear: to awaken spirit through art.
Whether she’s gliding above the stage, curating her immersive Odyssee supper-club, or channeling raw emotion in her latest project Iliad of Rainbows, Aydra embodies fearless creativity. CV Weekly caught up with her to talk inspiration, transformation, and the powerful connection between art, nature, and soul.
CVW: From private cheffing in LA to running a multi-country media company and performing aerial shows, what was the turning point when you realized music and performance must become your main path?
Swan: I had this moment, it must have been late 2021, it was a full moon and I was living in Tulum off and on between Joshua Tree. Two things came to me, one: that live music can never not exist, even on the heels of Covid, or with the rise of AI (maybe in some part due to it) we would inherently return to live music, it’s something you can’t take away from or out of humanity. Two: it Dawned on me that I was desperately trying to fill this void with expressions that would never truly satisfy me, they were temporary forms of income and accolades from family, friends and clients but they were not from my souls purpose. I made a deal with my higher self that night to return to believing that what came out of me naturally was enough and the world was ready to receive it. I felt sincere that what I had to offer could meet the needs of the culture and admitted that this was who I truly was and was born as and just because it’s hard doesn’t mean I should quit. Music was always it, since childhood and I’m completely self taught. It’s not something you can just turn off. If spirit chooses you as the channel you either rise to the occasion, or not.
CVW: Your Odyssee supper-club blends dining, fire, aerial work, and live music. What excites you most about combining those different art forms, and what’s one challenge you never anticipated?
Swan: I’ll always remember one time living in San Francisco, going to a supper club and there was an aerialist just crawling around the ceiling the whole time and I thought to myself; I want to do this. It’s such a unique and sort of dangerous way to dine and meet new people because you’re all collectively brought together by the performance. I enjoy a good conversation over dinner as much as anyone but I find it thrilling when suddenly you’re invited or even thrust into another world, the story of that creator or performer or piece of music and it demands your full attention. I feel it’s critical in the digital age as well to return to the presence that creates. On the same note, it ended up being an obstacle I didn’t fully examine in my first performances, where we dropped the meal and the show around the same time. I came to see it was a far better flow to introduce a course, give the audience time to appreciate the food, talk, connect and then the lights down, the plates are cleared and the first act starts. Now I’ve designed the pacing so that the acts are 3 songs each with courses in between, all telling a new story line I’ve written called Calypso, a sort of prelude to Odyssee and Illiad of Rainbows.
CVW: You describe yourself as an ‘elemental artist.’ What does that phrase mean for you, and what elements (earth, water, air, fire) do you feel most drawn to in your work?
Swan: In many ways it’s very literal; working with the elements both on and off stage in my mediums. On a more thoughtful examination, it’s returning to what we’re all made of, water being the most prevalent. And this is ironic because it’s the one thing on that’s difficult to convey and I would say is the element I’m most drawn too. If you had a look at my YouTube you’d see much of the underwater art I create from my travels through Cenotes of the Yucatan and deep water coves throughout Europe. My chart is mostly earth and fire as well so I find so much balance in water and in the air as well on the aerial apparatuses. I came from a somewhat difficult childhood (although I had a very loving family) it was filled with financial turmoil and I always felt misunderstood, needing to prove my worth. Exploring the elements connected me to my core, woke me up and steered me towards lifestyle choices which healed the rebellion of my formative years. In essence connecting to the elements returned me to the 5th element which I believe (and not just because of the movie, lol) is love. Mainly the love we learn to have for ourselves despite our shortcomings.
CVW: When creating a new album or single (like Iliad of Rainbows or Love to Let Go), what is your process? Do you start with a lyric, a melody, a visual idea, or something else entirely?
Swan: It completely varies. Something a melody pops in; your in a parking lot, on a plane, in the supermarket and you just sort of have to go with it and get it into the voice memo app before it’s gone. We are channeling, always; the songs, the melodies, lyrics even, they don’t belong to me, but I am their steward, so I choose to bring them into the world, or not. I’d say maybe 3 out of 12 song ideas make it to the finish line (publishing and/or performing). Often times with albums I’ll get a ping, it’s again, from the blue, maybe I’m traveling and in a peaceful space and I can begin to unravel an idea for a theme. I do have a morning practice as well where often ideas become more developed and clear. I also explore writing based on song titles connected to a theme, or just sitting at the piano clunking out a chord progression. Melodies are the most special thing we receive during channeling, I’ve dreamt melodies, and even come up with some that remind me of a song I can’t quite place, that’s when you really know they don’t ever really belong to you. Elizabeth Gilbert explores this concept in Big Magic. Even this very morning I went into my voice memos app and was reviewing ideas from the last month I think I counted 9 I really liked, so now that’s on me, how much time and care I devote to bringing them into the world.
CVW: Your performances often include aerial apparatus and live fire. How do you balance the theatrical spectacle with the emotional intimacy of music? Do you ever worry one overshadows the other?
Swan: Absolutely! In fact, I’m doing a residency at the restaurant Wildest on Saturdays this season, they’re on El Paseo, and I’m playing for dinner hours. It’s a balancing act because the sound can’t be too high, people aren’t there to see you so it’s important to involve some covers, and mainly I’ve come to find that it’s most impactful when I just sing and play the instrument. Stripping it down like this is a really insightful exercise because you don’t have the glitz and glam of the other mediums on stage, it’s just you and the keys. I quite enjoy it and the audience does too since they’re able to catch a glimpse at just the raw power behind the emotion of the song. We easily take for granted both that we’re able to digitally create a song or backing track the way we want by investing as much time as we need and also that indeed the process of building in a daw like Logic or Abelton and creating that music is no easy feat either! So I like to remind my audience by stripping all that away that there is indeed musician in there and also, a producer; I do engineer and produce most all material myself.
CVW: You’ve done photography, video, retreats, performance, music, how do you decide which medium to use to express a particular feeling or message?
Swan: At the end of the day, I am surviving with the intention to thrive in the medium of my music, performance and events as my primary business, to corporatize that outside of a label, or even manager. We all know this is not an easy path to choose. Photo and video work are an amazing outlet because there’s always a demand and I absolutely love to direct and create a pretty image, make people feel good. Ultimately, I crave to be in front of that camera and be the main character though, that’s who I am inside! My dream is to have a company blanketed by my brand as an artist, and create a mobile supper club that can go to private events, homes, and unique venues around the desert, the world even where I curate, produce, perform and empower others. It would be amazing to bring that into a retreat format as well, where guests get to explore the medium of telling a story through music, movement, writing and engaging an audience. That idea really lights me up.
CVW: In your site bio you mention spirit-based living, activism, and connection to the earth. How do those themes influence not just your art, but your daily life?
Swan: Spirituality and living a purpose-led life is what drives me. I just listened to an amazing interview with Modonna and Jay Shetty and I deeply connected with it. How having a spiritual practice saved her life, how she’s felt abandoned and betrayed so much but was resilient because she understood her worth didn’t depend on validation or actions of others. I also just finished Master of Me from Keke Palmer, she touches on the old saying of being a ‘jack of all trades’ I’ve definitely been called that, although, even Shakespeare would agree, those who master themselves make space and time for everything they are driven and inspired by. I’d bet most of the worlds most interesting artists are also activist and are spinning multiple plates, wearing lots of hats, fingers in a ton of pots and having a great time with it, also making meaningful impact.
CVW: What’s a moment in your journey, maybe a dark night, a failure, a risk — that changed how you show up as an artist today?
Swan: I’ve had my share of dark nights of the soul, one of my archetypes in the wounded healer, it gives me a sort of shamanistic approach because the Shaman takes on the pain of the culture or community then goes into solitude to process and heal it collectively. I believe that’s one of the reasons I choose to leave LA a decade ago and live in the desert. Solace, space, the chance to heal, in peace. When I first arrived here my partner and I formed a duo, Bellstarr. We had a lot of interest at the time as I was headstrong about getting gigs going with a local circus space, we had a tight sound, and some money guys came around. I wasn’t clear enough with the goal nor versed enough in the business and my boundaries were weak. I had to learn the hard way about public perception as well as being a women in a very corrupt industry. I stood ground and have had to since. I consider it a test more than a failure but I feel I could have been better prepared, which is why today I have a less lofty and more concrete vision of creating a sustainable success, which includes investing into business coaching and understanding I am capable of creating the abundance needed to reach my goals.
CVW: Looking ahead: where do you see the next chapter of Aydra J Swan going? What unrealized dreams or experiments are you most excited to try?
Swan: When I was a child, I saw my mom create a business in telling stories live at children’s event and assemblies when we were in dire straights. She’s my hero because she created something from a tradition as old as time that was both meaningful and transformative for those who witnessed it. In Calypso I explore more storytelling in the show, really I’m acting but I’m also telling my story of coming into my womanhood. I’d like to write more, for the stage and off stage, I have a completed novel I’d love to self publish and eventually tell my story as an artist woven with songs I’ve been writing since 18. But I will tell you a little secret, my end game is having a perfume line! I just love scents that aren’t harmful to us or the environment, and it’s a product people will always come back for if they like it, especially if they have a connection to you and your brand. That would then conclude my exploration of all 5 senses as a creator in this life and would just be such a fun project and way to serve my audience something new!
CVW: Where can fans find you?
https://www.instagram.com/iamaeydra/
www.youtube.com/aydrainthelements
That wraps up this week’s Local Music Spotlight with the incomparable Aydra J Swan, an artist who reminds us that music is more than sound; it’s energy, movement, and emotion intertwined. Her artistry invites us to rise a little higher, feel a little deeper, and live a little louder. The party doesn’t stop here. Hit the shows, feel the beats, and keep the valley’s music scene thriving. Because around here, the next song that changes your life might be playing tonight.
